Acceptance
by Secret Spy Guy
Summary: After his parents don't believe that he has ghost powers, Danny is sent away to an asylum.  There, he is rescued by a strange man named Mr. Strad, who tells him of a new threat from the ghost zone, and offers him a chance to train at his school.
1. They Say to Always Tell the Truth

**Spy Guy: This is a collab between myself and the darling Tori (she pretty much came up with the plot, and I wrote it out). I was hoping for this chapter to be longer, but I felt that there wasn't enough of Danny in this situation to really make it effective...so...I give you, THIS. **

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><p><em>The pavement was cold and wet, pelted by relentless rain, and covered in debris from the surrounding buildings. Danny tried to get up, tried to gather his limbs together, but found himself unable. Thunder boomed in the distance, but it was all he could hear. No screaming, no sounds of destruction.<em>

_He heard footsteps, and suddenly, he was surrounded by familiar faces, a circle of those he knew from his past life, and those from the new life he had learned to accept. They were silent as well, stopping a few feet from his prone form, their faces impassive. _

"_I'm not a ghost." Danny whispered, eyes darting around, taking in the faces of those who had shunned him, of those who had supported him, and of those he once considered family. Their eyes were blank, unreadable, and Danny felt a sob tear through his throat as he realized what had happened...that he had failed. _

"_I'm just a kid." He said, tears welling in his eyes. "Why was it __**my**__ job to protect you? Why!" _

_They didn't answer him...but he didn't expect them to. Danny buried his head in his arms and sobbed, not even flinching as hands grasped at his limbs and hauled him away. _

"_**It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to save them. I'm Danny Phantom...**_

"_**I'm supposed to save everyone..."**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>** They Say to Always Tell the Truth.**_  
><em>

Danny wasn't sure why he'd told them.

No. He knew why. It was because he was tired of lying to them, tired of going behind their backs. He had always been honest with his parents, and a few "ghost powers" shouldn't have changed that; shouldn't have made everything deteriorate like it had. Jazz had understood when she found out. She supported him, covered for him. But at what cost? The price of her own relationship with their parents.

And Danny wasn't going to make her live with that anymore.

His first mistake was telling them at all.

His second was telling them when Jazz wasn't around. Jazz had always been the "smarter" child. Maybe their parents would have believed him if she had been there to back him up.

But, no. She was away at college. Wouldn't be home for weeks.

His third mistake was believing that his parents would ever accept him. That they would believe him.

He should have known...

He _should have known._

* * *

><p>"Places like these are always haunted, Danny." Maddie whispered, pulling gently on her son's wrist. "They're dangerous."<p>

"Then, why are you making me go?" The boy demanded, tears welling in his eyes. "I told you the truth. I told you-"

"Sweetie, it's impossible."

"No." Danny snapped, pulling his arm away. "It's not impossible. There's two of us. I told you. Me and-"

"Vlad is _not_ a ghost."

His father's voice was uncharacteristically serious. The halfa felt a shiver race up his spine as he struggled against the bonds holding him to the table.

"Mom." He begged. "Mom, please. I don't want to go. I won't mention it again."

He felt his mother's gloved hand rest on his shoulder and couldn't keep back the panicked tears forming in his eyes. They didn't believe him. He'd told them the truth, and they refused to believe him. Now, instead of being torn apart molecule by molecule, he was being sent away...to get better. But, the only thing that was wrong with him couldn't be cured like that. He wasn't sure if it could be cured at all.

"We're going to use this little gun to shoot the chip right into the skin. It'll hurt a little bit, but then you'll always be protected, okay?"

"From what?" Danny asked.

"Ghosts."

"No!" He wrenched his wrist away again, "Mom, you can't do that. You really can't do that. Please!"

Maddie's eyes narrowed.

"It's not because of Phantom is it? Danny, you're not half ghost."

Jack took his son's wrist again, his grip strong. The end of the gun was cold against his skin, its barrel pressing into the soft flesh there.

"I am. I am, listen to me, I am!"

"Danny." Maddie whispered. "This is why you have to go. And we have to know that you're protected."

"You're not protecting me! Mom, don't-"

* * *

><p>They didn't call them asylums anymore; too many negative connotations associated with that name these days. It was an institution, for people who needed to be watched. Mentally unstable people. People who though they were things they weren't. By the time Danny found the pamphlet on the kitchen counter, it was too late to change his story. He was in the basement, having <em>that chip<em> imbedded into his wrist, and then he was bundled off into a white van and taken away.

That was how it went.

No goodbyes, no tearful hugs. Just hollow promises and lies. At the time, his parent's words had given him hope, but now, Danny could see them for what they were: things said just to placate him. They weren't coming...They never would.

His wrist constantly burned, a throbbing pain that refused to go away. Danny ran his fingers over the skin, the irritation invisible to the human eye. But, his ghost half was squirming in pain, trying to get away from the _thing_ suppressing it. The boy spent his nights whispering to Phantom, trying to get him to calm down, reassuring him that someday it wouldn't hurt anymore. He wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but it made him feel better at least.

The chip acted as an inhibitor to his ghost powers. It protected him, yes, and he supposed that he _did_ need it. There were ghosts everywhere in the asylum. Most were invisible, but he could feel their presences outside his room, and sometimes hear them wailing in the night, their spectral voices sounding too ethereal to be from current patients. Danny was safe as long as that chip was in his skin.

He would simply have to endure.

"_There's a little ghost rat that sits outside your door at night." _Phantom whispered in his head. _"It's real quiet."_

"How do you know it's a rat?" Danny asked, rolling over on its side.

"_Smells like one. I don't like how nosy it is." _

Danny chucked.

"You don't like anyone."

The ghost was silent.

There was a part of him that worried about how he talked to himself...No...To Phantom (who, even then, only existed in his head). His whispers at night probably weren't helping to prove that he was getting any better, but he was lonely, and he needed _some_ interaction...even if it was only in his mind. He never got to see anyone but the stone-faced nurses, and occasionally a doctor who asked him a lot of questions and wrote constantly on a large clipboard. No one would talk to him...

His parents hadn't come to visit.

There was the sound of a lock turning in the door, and Danny sat up, perching himself on the edge of the mattress. The door opened, and one of the nurses stood in, holding a tiny plastic cup that rattled when she moved. The boy cringed when he saw it...It'd been a few days since he'd had to take his meds...and he was finally starting to feel like himself again.

"_Get out of here, bitch." _Phantom hissed. _"Danny, tell this bitch to get out of here." _

"No." The boy whispered.

"You need to take your medicine, Danny."

"_Don't do it. I don't want to go away." _

"Danny. I won't leave until you take this."

"_Do you want to be alone? I'll talk to you. I always talk to you." _

"Danny."

"_Please." _

With a shaking hand, the boy took the plastic cup from the nurse, shaking the various sized pills onto his tongue, washing them all down with a hasty gulp of water. In his head, Phantom was whimpering, a soft sound that reminded Danny of puppy, but he knew that he had to ignore it. Phantom would have to be quiet for a little while, so the nurse would go away. So the doctors wouldn't come in their white coats and their masks, and force the drugs into him, one way or another.

He couldn't go through with that again.

Once the nurse was gone-satisfied that he wasn't merely hiding the pills beneath his tongue-Danny lay on his small cot, staring at the white ceiling above him. Everything around him was white: the ceiling, the walls, the floor. His bedding was white, his clothes were white, the slippers on his feet were white. It was a maddening color, too sterile and clean. If he ever managed to get out, he'd never own anything white again.

The meds made everything silent. They made his head feel like it was full of cotton. He wasn't sure how long it had been, but it felt like an eternity. There were times when he wondered if he'd ever get out, or if his family had simply dumped him there forever.


	2. The Strange Visitor

**Chapter 2: The Strange Visitor.**

"_Mom...Dad...I'm Danny Phantom." _

_All eyes turned to the boy as he stood, favoring one leg, hair disheveled and wild from flight. Danny swallowed thickly, unsure of what would happen next. Would they yell at him? Try to capture him? Would they accuse him of lying, or laugh at him? Total acceptance was the last thing he had expected when he walked into the lab that night, mind set on telling his parents the truth. _

_But, they just smiled, and exchanged a knowing glance, as if they'd been waiting for this. As if they knew. Danny fumed for a moment. Had Jazz told them? Even after she promised? Had all his stress over keeping his secret been for nothing? _

"_We believe you, Dear." His mother said, setting down the weapon she'd been working on. _

"_Do you need me to show you? " Danny asked, thrown off by the sudden acceptance. "I-I can show you." _

"_You don't have to show us, Danny. You'll set off all the alarms in the house." Dad said, smiling softly. _

"_But you believe me?" The boy asked, feeling relief rush though him, a relief that he hadn't felt since the accident... _

"_Yes." The two said. _

_And Danny smiled. _

"_That's awesome. I feel so much better. I really do." _

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><p>It had been the best he'd ever felt since the accident. His parents knew his secret, and maybe they had for a while. Regardless, a huge weight was gone from his chest. They had dinner that night, together at the table, and he told them all about his adventures. Maybe, if he'd paid attention, he would have realized that something was off, but it was just so great having his parents again, being able to tell them everything. It wasn't until the next day that he saw the pamphlet on the counter, and his new perfect world shattered.<p>

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><p><em>The pamphlet itself was worn in places, as though it'd been read over and over, as if they had been planning this for a while. <em>

_There was no mistaking the logo in the corner: Dalv Corp, Vlad's company. Vlad was behind this. Danny grabbed the piece of paper, running down to the lab, finding his parents there, waiting for him. _

"_What is this?" He demanded, chest heaving as his panic rose. _

_His parents didn't answer him. _

"_Jack..." His mother said, glaring at her husband. _

"_I'm sorry." The man murmured. _

"_How long?" Danny hissed. "How long have you been planning this?" _

"_About a month." Jack whispered. "Vlad and I have been discussing your destructive behavior. He said you had delusional tendencies...I didn't believe him then." _

"_So you lied to me? You think I'm crazy?" _

"_You need help...Vlad says-" _

"_Screw Vlad! He's a half ghost too!" Danny screamed, dropping the pamphlet to the ground. "How could you do this? I'm your son!" _

"_You're not helping your case, Danny." His dad said. "Don't you dare say that about my best friend. He just wants to help you." _

"_I should have known..." The boy murmured, his eyes snapping to the floor. "You'd never believe me. No matter what I do, you're always going to hurt me."_

"_We're doing what's best for you." _

* * *

><p>Danny opened his eyes, staring at the white ceiling above his head.<p>

He didn't want to think about that day...he'd given up then. Just given himself up to his parents. It didn't matter. He could have run away, hid out for the rest of his life, severed all ties to Amity Park and his family. But, he didn't want to. He didn't want to be hunted down like an animal, his face plastered on "missing" posters all over the city. There was always a chance that they would find him, and drag him back. This was easier...less messy. Maybe someday, if he proved that he was better, they'd let him out, and things would go back to the way they were. Maybe...his parents would visit him.

Maybe, if he got better, they'd love him again.

"_You don't need them." _Phantom whispered, his voice breaking through the haze. _"Not when you have me. If you could just get rid of that damn chip..."_

"I can't." Danny snapped, rolling over onto his side. "I've tried everything short of cutting my arm off."

"_That might be hard to do with a plastic butter knife." _

"You're not funny."

The ghost chuckled.

"I just want to get out of here." The boy sighed.

His room had been his entire world for weeks, the door opening and closing, letting in nurses and guards, but never letting him out. Danny spent most of his endless free time lying in bed, eyes staring at the maddeningly white ceiling, sometimes talking to Phantom when he was there (and sometimes even when he was not). The passage of time was marked only by the lights above, which would turn off when night fell, and on when morning came. Even then, Danny wasn't sure how much time had really passed...and he was sure that it didn't matter.

No one was coming for him.

"_Do you want to play checkers again?" _

"No." The boy snapped. "I'm sick of it."

"_That's because you always lose."_

"Shut up."

"Daniel?"

The boy shot up, his eyes wide as he spotted the nurse standing in the doorway, flanked by an angry-looking guard. When did the door open? Did they hear him? That meant more drugs. Shit.

"What's going on?" Danny asked, staring up at her,

"Someone's here to see you." The nurse replied as she approached. She took a comb from her pocket, running it roughly through his hair, tugging at the matted strands. When she was satisfied, she reached for his daily cup of pills, handing it to him, along with a small glass of water.

"Do I have to?" The halfa asked.

"If you want to see your visitor."

That had Danny almost inhaling the drugs, his brain ignoring Phantom's struggling protests. Someone had come to see him. He didn't care who it was, or why they were there (it could even be Vlad for all he cared). As long as it was someone he knew, someone he recognized, finally acknowledging that he was alive, and that he still meant something to them.

It wasn't long until everything felt fuzzy, but Danny knew that he had to stay alert. He didn't want anyone to see what he had become...to see how out of it the drugs made him. He didn't want them to know that he was on drugs at all. He just wanted to be himself.

For one day, he wanted to be himself.

"Can I see him now?" a voice asked from the hallway. Danny didn't recognize it. It didn't belong to his parents, or his friends, or even Vlad. It was a strange man, with a voice that made him shiver. Why would a stranger want to see him?

"Yes, sir. But be careful."

The nurse and guards left, and a man entered, dressed in an elegant grey suit and polished shoes. His dark hair was slicked back against his skull, his pale face gaunt and skeletal. He smiled, staring down his large nose, his eyes an odd inky black.

Danny watched as the man took a seat across from him, folding leather-gloved hands in his lap, shoe tapping impatiently against the tile.

The room was silent for a moment as the man scrutinized at him, quiet, still, eyes never blinking, or moving, or doing anything to show that he was alive...that he was real, and not something conjured by Danny's drugged mind. The stranger seemed unreal...and that had the halfa on edge.

"_Who is this?" _Phantom demanded, his voice almost too soft to hear.

"Daniel Fenton?" The man asked, breaking the silence of the real world.

Danny nodded, confused.

The man's smile grew.

"My name is Mr. Strad. I've been trying to find you for some time now."

"I've been here." The boy replied.

The man laughed.

"It's unfortunate that you are. I didn't expect to meet in a place like this. I know that you're far from crazy."

"Did Vlad send you?" The boy demanded narrowing his eyes.

"Please." Strad scoffed. "That man is a selfish, greedy, prick. I'm here to give you an offer of my own...Danny Phantom."

How did he know? Did the people at the asylum tell him? Did they laugh as they did, telling the sad story of the boy who thought he was a ghost Was that all he was now? A joke?

"Your parents thought you were delusional when they sent you here. They thought you were becoming destructive."

Strad's words hit him harder than he thought they would. Danny could see his parent's faces, how worried they were...how dangerous they thought he was. If only they knew.

"They thought I was crazy." He whispered.

"But, I know that you're far from that." Mr. Strad soothed. "That's why I'm here."

"What do you want from me?"

Mr. Strad cleared his throat.

"I am the headmaster of a school for children with special gifts, such as yourself. My institution helps them to understand their power, and trains them to defend the world against threats. You would be a welcome addition to my school, Daniel. Your powers are just what we need."

Danny glared at the man.

"Why do you need _my_ powers?"

"Because a deadly race of ghosts is planning to invade earth, dear boy."

"How do you know?"

There was a moment of silence as the man removed his gloves, setting them in his lap.

"I know this because one has spoken to me." He whispered, holding out his arm and pulling back the sleeve of his shirt. His hand was adorned with swirling designs, all a deep inky black. At first, Danny thought that they were merely tattoos, but then, the black mass pulled back, tendrils pulsing as Mr. Strad flexed his fingers, a smile curling on the man's dry lips.

"It's a spirit." The man continued. "An entity that lives deep within the ghost zone, further in than I can imagine even you have ever been. This place is full of creatures like these, black entities that can survive on their own just fine in the ghost zone...but require a human host to make it in the living realm."

"So you're..."

"Possessed? Overshadowded? In a way." Mr. Strad chuckled. "This creature...let's call it a shade, came to me from its home world, and spoke of horrible things. It's a rouge, a deviant of its people, and it is trying to stop the other shades from leaving the ghost zone and taking hosts.

"You see, Daniel, not all shades are as benevolent as mine. Most infect the minds of their host, and completely take over. It's a painful process, one that I am glad to have avoided."

"What does this have to do with your school?" Danny asked. "What does this have to do with me?"

Mr. Strad's face became grave.

"The shades are no longer content with their home in the ghost zone. They've found a way to break into the living world, and they are planning an attack. My shade has told me to gather special children, gifted with otherworldly powers and extreme intelligence. Who knows when the shades will make their first attack, and our army cannot grow too old."

"Children?"

The man nodded.

"We're willing to take you away from here, Daniel," He said, holding his hands out plaintively, palms streaked with black markings. "No more being cooped up in this place. No more drugs, no more loneliness. At my school, we are a family, and we look out for one another."

Danny scoffed.

"Too good to be true."

"Isn't everything?" Mr. Strad said with a laugh. "But, it has to be better than what you have here. Look at you, a young boy like yourself, trapped inside a mental institution. Your powers are wasted here. Soon your mind will turn to mush. Can't you feel it?"

And Danny could. He could feel the days growing together, the voices in his head growing louder. He could feel his body giving up, health deteriorating as he wasted away on his mattress every day, lost in a haze of drugs. He couldn't think clearly. He was forgetting names, faces. There were things in his head that were foggier than they should have been...

"_Take it." _Phantom whispered softly. _"Anything's better than this." _

"What about my parents?" Danny asked, trying to stave off the sick feeling in his gut as he thought about what they had done to him.

"They don't care about you." Mr. Strad said. "If they really did, would they have put you here?"

"You're manipulating me. Just like Vlad."

Mr. Strad frowned

"At my school, you can make a difference. You can save the world, or you can stay here, and let your mind waste away. But, when the shades come, you and everyone you love will be defenseless. If you come with me, you can save them."

"_Danny..."_

The boy turned to his wrist, his arm stinging with the endless pain the chip caused him. With it imbedded in his flesh, he couldn't do anything to defend himself. He couldn't save anyone. Even if he somehow managed to get out of the asylum, he didn't have ghost powers. He was just Danny Fenton...

"Can you get rid of this?" He asked, looking up.

Mr. Strad nodded.

"As soon as we get you out of here, we'll take care of that."

"How are you going to do that?" The boy asked. "There are cameras everywhere."

"I have my ways, boy. All you have to do is wait, and I'll take care of the rest."

The man stood up, pulling on his gloves, covering the inky tendrils once again.

"So, Mr. Fenton. What will it be? I'm a busy man, and I don't have all day. Will you come to my school, or stay here?

"Choose, Daniel, or I'll leave you here for the rest of your life."

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><p><strong>Spy Guy: Holy Sadistic cliffhangers Batman! <strong>

**Welp, that's where the chapter ends. Thanks for all the reviews guys. I hope that this chapter cleared some things up for you. :)  
><strong>


	3. Aesita

**Spy Guy: Finally, an update. Yup. An update. Read and review!  
><strong>

**Chapter 3: Aesita. **

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><p>"<em>Choose, Daniel, or I'll leave you here for the rest of your life." <em>

"I-I don't know." Danny said, looking away.

"They don't love you." Mr Strad said with a frown. "If they loved you, they would have accepted you. They would at _least _visit you."

"But...they're my parents."

Danny couldn't explain what he was feeling; this turmoil of emotion that had his stomach rolling and his sluggish mind reeling. He wanted to leave the asylum, more than anything, but he also wanted go home, not be confined to some stranger's mysterious _school_, thrust into a war for the freedom of humanity.

He wanted to be a teenager again...that's all he wanted.

"_It's not fair."_ Phantom whispered.

"It's not fair." Danny repeated aloud. "Why can't things just be normal again?"

At this, Mr. Strad's face softened, and he crossed the room, taking a seat by the boy's side.

"Some people aren't made for the normal or the mundane." He said, resting a gloved hand on Danny's shoulder. "I was about your age when the shade found me, but unlike you, I knew nothing of the paranormal...I thought that I _was_ crazy...and that I belonged in a place like this. But I didn't, and neither do you, Daniel. Your powers were gifted to you for a reason."

"_Danny-" _

"I'll do it." The boy said, cutting Phantom off. "As long as you keep your promises, I'll do it."

"Excellent." The man said, getting abruptly to his feet. "I need to go negotiate with the owner of this establishment, but I'm sure he'll let you go. They always do when given the right...incentives."

"I doubt he will." Danny scoffed. "You don't know him."

"I can be very persuasive." Mr. Strad said with a sly grin. "Don't worry about me."

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><p>Vlad visited the asylum often, if only to check on Daniel. That poor boy, confined to a single room, cut off from most human contact, forced to endure a life of monotony. Vlad knew how it felt...he knew how the loneliness would soon start to claw at his insides, and twist his kind-hearted naivety into something darker, something Vlad could <em>use. <em>He hadn't _wanted_ to play so dirty. Truly, he'd wanted to win the boy over using civil means, but, sometimes, circumstances change, and he was tired of waiting.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Masters." The receptionist said with a fake smile.

The man greeted her in return, and continued up to his office, where a pile of paperwork, and a wall of security screens awaited him. Vlad was a man who liked being in control. There were many aspects of his empire that he chose to take care of himself (which was an easy feat when one could duplicate themselves). There had been many nights when, upon hearing of troubles in the institution, he had taken a seat in his office, and watched the drama unfold, catching the culprit every time, and instilling in them a fear of his ghostly half. They told stories of him, yes, but who would believe any of it? It was a mental institution. Vlad could do whatever he pleased.

Most days, Daniel would simply lie on his bed...but on this day, Vlad saw that the boy was not alone. There was a man on the blurry screen, his clothing darkly contrasting with the white that dominated the institution. The nurses wore white, the doctors wore white, the patients wore white. However, this man, this..._intruder_ was dressed in a dark suit. That could only mean one thing...

An outsider had come to see Daniel.

"Sarah, I thought that I specified that D287 was not to have _any_ visitors." The billionaire hissed into the intercom on his desk. There was a pause before the woman answered.

"_I'm sorry Mr. Masters, but the computer indicated that you'd lifted the ban." _

"I did nothing of the sort!" Vlad snarled, his vision turning red. "Who is it?"

"_A man named Mr. Strad, sir. And, he said that he would like to talk to you after seeing the patient." _

"I bet he would! Send him up here, immediately!"

Vlad leaned back in his chair, huffing angrily, his hand straying to the button on his desk that would hide the security screens from view. Sometimes, it was best not to let others know how much power and knowledge you held. Secrets were a man's best friend.

Now, he only had to wait for Daniel's mysterious visitor to arrive. The ghost in him hated waiting. It wanted to fly down to the boy's room and rip and tear and shred and scream-

But, Vlad was civilized. He would wait. Patience is a virtue, after all.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before there was a soft, timid knock at the door.<p>

"Yes?" He called.

"Mr. Masters." The receptionist said. "Mr. Strad would like to speak with you."

"Let him in then." The hybrid replied, sitting up in his chair. The door opened, and the stranger stepped inside, wearing a pristine black suit, his dark hair slicked back. He was a man of style, but there was something about him that set the hybrid on edge; something slimy and _wrong _that made his ghost half squirm.

"Good evening." The stranger said, smiling politely. "My name is Mr. Strad."

"And I am Vladimir Masters." Vlad replied, his hand motioning toward an empty chair across from him. "Take a seat, and we can begin our talk."

Mr. Strad quietly shut the door before sitting down, still smiling, almost crookedly now...or perhaps Vlad was just imagining things.

"Would you like to tell me why you're here?" Vlad asked, doing nothing to hide his hostility.

"I would like to bargain with you, Mr. Masters." Strad replied. "You have a patient here that's of most interest to me."

"Is that so? Well, there are many patients here. Is it Howard Denning? He fancies that he can talk to fish."

Mr. Strad chuckled.

"No. Not at all. Actually, I'm interested in one Daniel James Fenton?"

The hybrid scoffed. Of course. This man would take interest in _the one_ patient he actually cared about.

"Why Daniel?"

"I believe I can help his condition."

Vlad closed his eyes, struggling to keep himself composed. Why had he come for _Daniel, _out all the people in the institution, why _him_?It left a sour taste in the hybrid's mouth.

"I'm afraid Daniel must stay here. He isn't responding well to treatment."

The stranger frowned before leaning forward in his chair, extending his hands imploringly.

"Mr. Masters, I run a school that specializes in his kind of ailment. Surely you must know that it would be better if he were around others his own age. Only then can he get over his...psychosis. Socialization is the key."

Vlad shook his head.

"Daniel's parents approved my methods. He will stay here."

The hybrid's tone was final.

He didn't like anyone asking around for Daniel, let alone proposing to take him away. The ghost under his skin pushed against its confines, yearning to rip and shred, but Vlad had better control than that. He was capable of handling things in a civil manner, even if his goals were threatened. He had done so much to secure Daniel in his institute, like _hell_ some _prissy _headmaster of some _school_ was going to simply walk away with him.

"I'll make you an offer."

What? Vlad narrowed his eyes. What was he saying?

"Money is nothing for me, Mr. Masters." The stranger continued, reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out a leather checkbook. "Anything you wish, you may have."

The hybrid laughed. He couldn't help it. Did this _fool_ not know who he was? He was _Vladimir Masters_, billionaire. Most of the country was his, and some of Canada as well.

"Put that away." Vlad snapped. "You can't buy me."

"What else can I do to convince you?"

"Nothing." Vlad snarled, getting to his feet. "We're through here."

Mr. Strad's gloved hand shot out, seizing the hybrid's wrist in a surprisingly strong grip. Vlad tried to pull away, but the man only gripped tighter, his face twisting into a cruel grimace.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." The man hissed through his teeth. Vlad gasped as dark tendrils began snaking up from the collar of the man's shirt, running over his face and staining his eyes an inky, soulless black.

Vlad immediately sent a jolt of ecto-energy through their connection, pulling away and cradling his wrist, as though burned.

"What the hell _are you_?" The man demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing." Mr. Strad replied, his voice low and distorted. "Are you protecting him? You don't need to. I can take him off your hands."

The creature chuckled darkly, and attempted to take a few steps forward, but Vlad fired an ectoblast between them, and set up a shield, preventing him from advancing any further.

"Do you really want to know what I am?" The thing asked, flashing a toothy grin. "I once lived in the darkest reaches of the darkest world, all alone, until I found this human, and made him my home. I like your world, just the way it is, and I intend to do all I can to maintain order."

"You're overshadowing that man. The _real_ Mr. Strad."

"We live here together." The thing hissed. "There's enough room in this shell."

"And _your_ name?" Vlad demanded.

"Aesita." The creature replied. It pulled the gloves from Mr. Strad's hands, showing a maze of black tendrils writhing along the pale skin. "Daniel is rotting from the inside out. If you leave him here much longer, he will be useless to me, and to you."

"I know what I'm doing." The hybrid snarled,

Aesita turned its inky eyes in the man's direction, twisting the man's face into a wry smirk.

"No you don't."

Black shot from the man's hands, like inky claws, breaking effortlessly through Vlad's shield and digging into his chest. Aesita pushed the man back against the closed door, lifting him off of his feet, grinning as he gasped for air like a fish.

"Daniel _wants_ to go with me." It said. "He said so. He knows what I am. He knows what Strad's school is for. Anything is better than this place you call an _institution_."

"No." Vlad gasped as his vision began to dim. Daniel was supposed to join him...was supposed to be his son. Soon. He only had to wait. Soon, Daniel would see the light, and he would agree to go back to Wisconsin. Vlad would finally have what he wanted.

It was perfect. It wasn't supposed to fail.

"We'll save your world, _Vladimir." _The hybrid heard Aesita snarl as the world faded around him.

"_But you'll always be alone..."_


End file.
